Terms and Conditions

Last updated: 4 May 2026

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of dmitrychernov.com (the "Website") and any services we offer through it. By accessing the Website you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website.

For information about who we are, our legal status, and how to reach us, see §14 About us and contact at the end of these Terms.

1. Acceptable use

You agree to use the Website only for lawful purposes. In particular, you will not:

• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Website, its servers, databases, or any related infrastructure;
• scrape or systematically harvest content beyond what a regular browser would request when reading the site;
• introduce malware, exploits, or any code intended to damage or disrupt;
• use the Website to send unsolicited communications to us or to others;
• impersonate any person or misrepresent your identity in any form you submit.

We may suspend or block access for any breach of these Terms, with or without notice.

2. Intellectual property

2.1 Our content

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all content on the Website — including text, photographs, illustrations, diagrams, code samples, case studies, and design — is owned by us or licensed to us. It is protected by copyright under Georgian law, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and equivalent laws in other jurisdictions.

You may:

• read, view, and print pages for personal, non-commercial use;
• quote short excerpts with attribution and a link back to the source URL, in line with the right of quotation described in §3 below.

You may not, without prior written permission:

• republish substantial portions of the Website on another platform;
• use our content for commercial purposes (training datasets, derivative products, paid courses);
• remove or alter any copyright, attribution, or credit notice.

2.2 Your content

If you submit content to us (for example a project brief, message, or any material shared during an engagement), you retain ownership of it. By submitting it you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, process, and use it for the purpose for which you submitted it (responding to your enquiry, performing the engagement, etc.).

3. Critical commentary, audits, and case studies

A core part of our work — both on the Website and in our consulting services — involves public analytical commentary on websites, products, and design decisions of third-party companies, including well-known and publicly traded ones. This Section 3 explains the legal basis on which we publish such commentary.

3.1 What we publish

In our case studies, audits, blog posts, and similar materials, we may include:

• Screenshots of publicly accessible web pages;
• Short quotations of public marketing copy, headlines, or interface text;
• References to brand names, product names, and logos where they are needed to identify the subject of the analysis;
• Our own observations, opinions, ratings, and recommendations.

All such material is presented for the purposes of criticism, review, commentary, and educational analysis. It is our opinion based on publicly available information.

3.2 Right of quotation for criticism and review

Our use of third-party material is permitted under long-established exceptions to copyright, including:

• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10(1) — quotations from a work which has already been lawfully made available to the public are permitted, provided their making is compatible with fair practice and their extent does not exceed that justified by the purpose;
• EU Directive 2001/29/EC (InfoSoc Directive), Article 5(3)(d) — exception for "quotations for purposes such as criticism or review, provided that they relate to a work or other subject-matter which has already been lawfully made available to the public, that, unless this turns out to be impossible, the source, including the author's name, is indicated, and that their use is in accordance with fair practice, and to the extent required by the specific purpose";
• Georgian Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, Article 22 — permits quotation from lawfully published works for purposes including criticism and scientific research;
• 17 U.S.C. § 107 (United States Fair Use Doctrine) — fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research is not an infringement;
• UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 30 and 30A — fair dealing for the purposes of criticism, review, quotation, and caricature, parody or pastiche.

We limit each quotation, screenshot, or excerpt to what is reasonably necessary to make the point being analysed and we identify the source where it is technically and editorially possible.

3.3 Trademarks: nominative fair use

When we refer to a company or product by name or display its logo, we do so to identify the subject of analysis — a long-recognised exception to trademark rights commonly known as nominative fair use (or referential use in EU terminology):

• EU Directive (EU) 2015/2436 (Trade Marks Directive), Article 14(1)(c) — the proprietor of a trade mark cannot prohibit a third party from using the mark "for the purpose of identifying or referring to goods or services as those of the proprietor of that trade mark, in particular where the use of the trade mark is necessary to indicate the intended purpose of a product or service";
• Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(3)(A) (United States) — fair use, including nominative or descriptive fair use, is exempted from dilution claims;
• Established case law, including New Kids on the Block v. News America Publishing, Inc. 971 F.2d 302 (9th Cir. 1992) in the US, and the BMW v. Deenik C-63/97 (1999) doctrine in the EU.

Our use of any third-party trademark is limited to identification only. We do not imply sponsorship, endorsement, partnership, or any commercial relationship with the trademark owner unless explicitly stated. All trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.

3.4 Freedom of expression

Critical commentary on commercial websites and products is also protected as an exercise of the right to freedom of expression under:

• European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10;
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19;
• Constitution of Georgia, Article 17;
• The First Amendment to the United States Constitution (for material reaching US audiences).

These protections are particularly strong where the subject is a commercial actor operating in public, and where the commentary is presented as opinion grounded in publicly observable facts.

3.5 Editorial standards

We commit to the following editorial practices:

• We base our analysis on publicly accessible information — primarily what any visitor to the analysed website can observe;
• We distinguish opinion from fact — claims like "this CTA is weak" are clearly framed as our professional opinion, not as factual assertions about the company;
• We do not disclose confidential information obtained through any consulting or NDA-protected engagement in our public case studies; where a client engagement is published, it is published with the client's consent;
• We correct factual errors promptly upon being notified.

3.6 Takedown and right of reply

If you are the rights-holder of material referenced in our content and believe our use exceeds the exceptions described above, or if you believe a factual statement we have made is inaccurate, please contact chernov.dv@gmail.com with:

1. Your identity and standing in relation to the material;
2. A clear description of the content concerned and where on the Website it appears;
3. The specific concern (copyright, trademark, factual accuracy, defamation, other);
4. Where applicable, the correction you believe is appropriate.

We will review the request promptly and in good faith. Where a complaint is well-founded we will correct, attribute, or remove the content. Submission of a takedown notice is not, by itself, an admission by us that the original use was unlawful.

4. Services and engagements

The Website describes professional services we offer, including audits, design, and full-cycle product engagements. These descriptions are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a binding offer. Any engagement between you and us will be governed by a separate written agreement (a Statement of Work, Master Services Agreement, or similar) signed by both parties, which will set out scope, fees, deliverables, timelines, confidentiality, and IP terms specific to that engagement.

In case of any conflict between these Terms and a signed engagement agreement, the engagement agreement prevails.

5. Bookings and forms

You can submit forms on the Website to request a call, send a message, or otherwise contact us. By submitting a form you confirm that:

• the information you provide is accurate;
• you are at least 16 years old, or you have the consent of a parent or guardian;
• you understand we will process the data as described in our Privacy Policy.

A booking confirmation email or similar acknowledgement does not, by itself, create a binding service agreement — it confirms a meeting, not the scope of any subsequent engagement.

6. External links

The Website may link to third-party websites for reference. We do not control those websites and are not responsible for their content, availability, or policies. Following an external link is at your own risk.

7. Disclaimers

The Website and its content are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. In particular, we make no warranty that:

• the Website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure;
• defects will be corrected;
• the content is accurate, current, or complete at any given moment;
• any commentary, opinion, audit, or recommendation will be applicable to your specific business situation.

Nothing on the Website is legal, financial, investment, or professional advice. If you act on information from the Website, you do so at your own risk and should obtain advice from a qualified professional appropriate to your circumstances.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, business, or data, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Website, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total cumulative liability for all claims arising out of or in connection with your use of the Website is limited to EUR 100 or the amount you have paid us in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, whichever is greater.

Nothing in this Section 8 limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law (such as liability for fraud, gross negligence, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that mandatory law does not allow to be limited).

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of:

• your breach of these Terms;
• your unlawful use of the Website;
• your infringement of any third party's intellectual property, privacy, or other rights through your use of the Website.

10. Privacy

Your use of the Website is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms by reference.

11. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of Georgia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules.

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Website shall be submitted to the competent courts of Tbilisi, Georgia, except that either party may seek injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property or confidential information.

If you are a consumer resident in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction whose mandatory consumer-protection law would otherwise apply to you, nothing in this Section 11 deprives you of the protection of that mandatory law.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent revision. For material changes, we will display a prominent notice on the Website for at least 30 days. Continued use of the Website after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

13. Severability and entire agreement

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect, and the invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that most closely reflects the original intent.

These Terms (together with the Privacy Policy and any signed engagement agreement) constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding your use of the Website and supersede any prior understanding on the same subject.

14. About us and contact

The Website is operated by Dmitry Chernov, Individual Entrepreneur (Georgian Individual Entrepreneur, ID No. 302261362), with a registered office in Tbilisi, Georgia ("we," "us," "our").

For takedown requests or other legal correspondence, please put "Legal" or "Takedown" in the subject line.